The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-07-09
ETTER-CARRIERS
l.ir Duties in Olden Times and
Now.
u..see Of Their Calling-Expefienoes
roth Pathetic aad AmuslnE-Quesr
customers and Strange Incidents
The Unfortunate Baron.

qIlJ sCrl AbNhs
" than they had in the olden days.
men bluff King Hal was on the
Iuus Of England. they were hanged
thew delayed on the road with their
spstohes, and the letters Of the six
[ep,h century were sometimes orna-
Pepted with a sketch Of q postman
,spendsd from a gallows, as a gentle
emindev to the bearer Of the letter.
Fnderneoth was the admonition:
Haste, post, haste! Haste for thy
ser' Postmasters and relays of
(orsos we're then established at the
rincipal towns along the %highroads,
nd tho postmasters Endorsed on the
tiers the hour of their arrival in tram
From the penalty attached to slow
Edins, or hating, came the proverb Of
riding for your life,' and the carrier
new that the more he increased his
need, the greater was the distance
Chich he put between himself and an
euominious death. Instead of hang
-, dismissal from the service is the
eualty now; but the courier Of His
tajesty Henry the Eighth could
bot have shown more expedi-
on than does the gray.coated
esrer Of the mail who hastens
rom door to door in our crowded
american cities. We never see him
uiering. Carrying his heavily weight
bag across his shoulder, and with q
bundle of letters for immediate deliv-
)ry in his hand, he moves 80 quickly,
bow into the basement, then up the
)ong steps Of the high stoop. that it
bNms as if some great penalty, or
Pcme great prize, mus. be dependent
bn his speed.
|. is the same in winter. when the
bsvemcnts are glazed with ice. and the
Meet is beating down upon him, as in
(he summer. when every one else IS
shade from the equatorial heat.
BE is always brisk and punctual on his
bounds, and he is one Of the few public
who have their heart in their
and who do not want to give
Is little - possible in return for their
wages.
The letter-carrier in q large city Is on
luty from ten to twelve hours a day,
and has to walk eighteen to twenty
In making his deliveries and coll
He arranges the letters &C
to streets and numbers. and
! special directory which shows him.
neither street nor number is
given, whether the imperfectly directed
are for persons on his route. He
has special compartments for the
Of firms whose mail is unusually
Five minutes before 1t is time to start
: warning gong is sounded. for he is
to leave the Office at the very
fixed for the delivery; and at
that moment, punctual as the clock it
he sallies forth. having first reg
istered the number Of letters he carries
with him. He IL too busy and too
PRACTICAL . man to think Of the romance
interviewer with his occupation. The
Of many lives lies in that bundle
which hs carries In his ~hand-messages
'f woe, and words that will change the
Of despair to the flattery Of
hope; news Of almost forgotten friends.
news, too. Of unexpected deaths
where only glad tidings have been
for.
Some one has called him ''every
visitor and no body's guest. HE
'oe' not linger anywhere. and II he OBJ
'efvcs what pass es he does not show it,
@r noSooneris one letter delivered than
lis eyes are bent upon the next, trying to
make out an address which looks like
faded track Of Bsbylonic Ay.
should We hint ut the romance Of
etter'csrrying and try to pump him
1n,ie be ID on the route. he would
PROBABLY deprecate the attempt and
Wy, With the oft-Quoted knife. grinder: